Mesa Republican Jerry Lewis remains the underdog in the recall election targeting Senate President Russell Pearce, but he improved his standing a bit last week when a fellow candidate dropped out of the race and instead endorsed him.

Many Pearce opponents believe that Olivia Cortes, the other Mormon Republican who has entered the LD18 recall race, is little more than a plant from the Pearce camp whose sole purpose in the contest will be to draw anti-Pearce votes away from Jerry Lewis.

A judge who is weighing arguments in a lawsuit that seeks to stop the recall election against Senate President Russell Pearce gave no indication today how he would rule, but he fired off more questions to the side looking to stop the historic special election.

The lawyer who wants to stop the recall of Senate President Russell Pearce insisted in a legal filing Tuesday that the petition should be thrown out because its wording did not comply with the Arizona Constitution.

A Capitol railbird today said the letter of support for Pearce that Biggs and Pierce are circulating among caucus members was a bad idea. “I would not have done that,” the longtime Capitol observer said.